


Rain (Dreamnotfound)

by redriot07



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Cat Vase, Explicit Language, Fluff, Gay, Idiots in Love, Internal Conflict, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Romance, SAPNAP IS HERE :D, Slow Burn, alternative universe, i have no idea what to put here, lets all hate on mushrooms, they're so awkward ahah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28104045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redriot07/pseuds/redriot07
Summary: In which George, who works at his family's bakery meets a familiar man on a rainy day
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 210





	1. Thunderstorms

**Author's Note:**

> I've never really written fanfiction before and posted it before so this is all new to me :] sorry if my grammar isn't very good I'm still learning how to English even though it's the only language I know  
> also, there is a lot of cussing (I can't help it ahah) and no sensitive topics because my heart cant take any more abuse (AND NO SMUT)  
> This will be posted whenever I want and if the CC's don't like this being up I will take it down  
> enjoy :]

**GEORGE'S POV (3rd)**

_Wednesday_

Days like these were George's favorite. The sun was hidden away from the clouds that hang in the sky, and the sky was a light shade of grey. He hated being inside during these days. He wanted to sit on the sidewalk, taking in the crisp air, tasting the water that dropped from the sky. He loved the feeling of the water hitting his porcelain skin and the slow path that the droplet took as it descended his face. The rain was the best. Nobody was outside, they were all hiding in their houses, complaining about the amount of water coming down from the sky. That was how George liked it. He liked the peace.

However, today was not one of those nice and peaceful days. Under the fluorescent lights, George sat on a barstool, watching the rain slide down the bakery's front windows. He wasn't allowed to leave the shop, that's what his mother said. He doesn't get why on these days, nobody sane enough would walk through the pouring rain to get a fresh bagel. Not once today had George heard the small bell of somebody opening the little shop. Not even when the sun poked out just enough to make a faint rainbow in the sky. It was only there for an hour though, and it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

George sighed, why of all days did he have to work? He doesn't even get anything out of it, he gets the same amount of money every teenager does for allowance. The rain slams down on the sidewalk as thunder starts at a low rumble. George jumps the lighting strikes, spilling the coffee he was holding in his left hand.

"Fuck!" George cusses, shaking his hand as if that would help the burning sensation that coursed throughout his hand. He quickly grabs a towel and starts mopping the floor with it. The burning sensation still rippled through his hand, but it was less noticeable. You could only really notice that there was a burn there where the skin looked pink and raw. George runs cold water over his exposed hand and sighs in relief as all of the pain disappears.

The thunder rolls again, this time louder and longer. George shivered as he looked out the window once more. Maybe now wouldn't be the best time to go outside. George stayed like that for a while, his head in his left hand, staring at the road in front of the shop. Occasionally there would be a couple of people passing by, scurrying to their cars that were parked in the road. They all looked soaked, and not one of them would have an umbrella. They were all dumbasses. All of them. Doesn't anyone look at the weather app these days?

There was one person though. He ran with a clear umbrella past the bakery, his green hoodie was a bright flash of light. Well, to George it was yellow. Piss yellow. But really everything was either grey or yellow, so George didn't pay any mind to it. To the people around him, who saw all colors, the hoodie was unusual and didn't fit in with the rest of the bland world.

Not soon after, that same man ran the opposite way that he was going before. Now, this- this was unusual to George. He sat up a little bit taller in his sitting position like that would do anything to help him see. The man was long gone. For sure! It's not like he would come back the way he came! George slumped back down. He was hoping to get a laugh in today. A man, running in different directions frantically is the best way to make him laugh. The brunette man looked back down at his phone. Only one more hour until he was free of this hell hole.

George scrolls through Reddit, only occasionally letting out a sharp breath of air through his nose, as the small bell rang. That was unexpected. George looked up to see a tall man standing in the doorway. His clear umbrella redacted to it's smaller form, and water dripped from it. It was the man from before. You know, the man who was running around in two directions? The one with the green hoodie? Yeah, him.

George looked up and studied the man. He had blonde hair- no wait. Is it brown? George couldn't tell. It was a huge mop on his head, with one side soaked from where the umbrella had moved as he was running. George's eyes flickered down to his face, half of it covered by a mask. Where the mask wasn't George could see light freckles dotted on the man's face. Fuck, it was George's weakness. Freckles. The way they danced on people's faces gave him a happy feeling whenever he saw them.

"Hello?" The man asked. George snapped out of his freckled trance at the man's voice. It was sort of raspy but was also clear and loud enough for him to hear. He had a peaceful voice, which wasn't expected from his tall frame.

"Ah, sorry," George says. He can feel his cheeks starting to burn from embarrassment. He walks over to the tiny order station at the end of the bar and looks back up at the man's face. His yellow- no green- eyes stood out against the dimly lit bakery. The piercing green eyes gave a sense of familiarity to George but he shrugged it off. "What would you like to order?" George asks.

"Oh! um," the man stuttered. He shifted his weight from side to side and looked behind him. "I was just wondering if I could sit down and wait out the rain?" the man answered awkwardly, his long finger pointed to the tables behind him. George could feel his cheeks turn an even brighter red. Fuck this is awkward.

"Uhh yeah, you can sit anywhere". The man smiled and showed a clumsy thumbs up and sat down at a table near the front window. George took the opportunity of the man looking down at his phone to study him. The man was slouched over the table, and his legs looked uncomfortable in the position they were in. He could see one shaking slightly and heard the faint rhythm of fingers tapping on the table. George's eyes then traveled back to his face. This time, he could only see the side profile of the man. And he hated to say it but- god his side profile was hot. George had always been self-conscious of his side profile, he hated the way his nose stuck out, and how his chin dipped below his lips and then poked right back out. George sighed and stared at the beauty of a man in front of him. Everything was gorgeous about him, just his presence alone would make angels sing. Occasionally he would slip down his mask, taking a few deep breaths before snapping it back onto his face.

"Um, sir- you can-" George started. The man looked back at him and George pointed to his mask, "You can take off the mask, we're far enough away, and technically you're sitting at a dining area" The man stared at George for a while and then nodded, pulling his mask to under his chin, showing his pink-tinted lips. The man moved his gaze over to the window next to him. The rain had stopped slightly and now instead of pounding on the windows it only made a soft drumming sound. George looked down at his watch.

2:47 pm. George stood up and looked around for a broom. Once he located it in the storage closet, he went around and swept under the tables. It wasn't like anybody actually ate something here today, but if his mother found out he didn't sweep, he would get in big trouble. George got over to the window table where the man still sat. He had his earbuds in and wasn't paying attention to the world around him. Not sweeping under one table wasn't the end of the world George decided, so he swerved around the table.

By the time he was done, it was 2:54. George went to the back and grabbed his blue bag and the keys on the back counter. He walked out the door and turned around, locking the door behind him, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He went up to the man, making sure that his mask was on. George tapped his shoulder and the man looked up at him, taking his earbud out of his ear.

"I um-" George started sweating "I gotta lock up now, it's time to close up the store." The man nodded and smiled at him (holy fuck his smile) and slipped back on his mask. He grabbed the umbrella that sat next to him and stood up.

"You're closing already?" He asks

"Uh yeah we close early on Sunday's" George answers awkwardly. There was an uncomfortable silence that followed his sentence, and George could feel the heat rising to his cheeks again. Geroge walks out the door and held it open for the man. He holds out his hand, feeling only one or two droplets falling onto it. George turns to the man

"Well I guess it's goodbye then," George said turning to the man. He nodded.

"Yeah, maybe I'll see you around sometime uhh-" The man cut off. George realized ten seconds later that he was asking for his name. George cleared his throat

"Uh, George- my name's George" The man nodded "What's yours then?"

"Clay" The man answered. George bobbed his head up and down and Clay started walking down the sidewalk.

"Wait!" George said, a little louder than he hoped for it to be. Clay turned around. "have I seen you before?" George asked. For some reason, Clay's faces seemed so familiar to him, like a long lost friend. Clay seemed to take a long time to answer.

"Yeah, in your dreams" he snarkily answers, but a small chuckle came after. George stood there, stunned as the tall figure in front of him turned and walked away from him. Was he making fun of him? Was he just joking around, making a funny joke? Did he know something? George couldn't tell you the answer. But, as he walked away he could feel the heat that he very much remembers creep up to his cheeks, this time not from embarrassment.


	2. Clay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Clay panics and George dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello it's me again :] I was very surprised when people actually read and liked this story, so thank you all :] I was going to post this before Christmas but I messed up. Badly. I was going to go and add on to my work in progress and the chapter wasn't there. and I didn't. make. a. goddamn. backup. I was going to copy it onto a doc as soon as I got on but that didn't work out very well  
> All of my work got lost but that's ok, I didn't really like how it was going anyways.  
> Anyways Happy New Year!! Hopefully the next chapter will be out next week :)  
> 

**CLAY'S POV (3rd)**

_Wednesday_

Clay's day wasn't going so well. It really did start off as a normal day, he fed Patches, his cat, like always, and ate the same old cereal that he had stored in his pantry. It all went downhill when he online for his job. Apparently, he had a project that was due for his meeting in the morning, which he wasn't informed about. Well, he actually _was_ informed of this project, but it was emailed to him, and who the fuck checks their emails these days? Really, all Clay did during his work hours was play Minecraft. He logged in of course and punched in a couple of numbers, but then abandoned his work. So there he was, in a call with his boss being fired. Clay knew it was going to bite him in the ass if he skipped work to play Minecraft. Really, Clay was excited to be finally freed from his job and then decided to go on a nice walk and perhaps stroll by a certain bakery on the way, maybe just peeking in a little bit. Bad idea.

The rain started as soon as Clay stepped into a small store close to George's bakery. He had planned to grab snacks for his small walk in the sun, but now that it was raining he didn’t really have the taste for anything. He grabbed a sandwich wrapped in plastic and walked up to the cashier when he noticed the umbrella. Sure, it was small but he could fit under it. Clay grabbed the umbrella and his cheese sandwich and walked out of the store, cursing under his breath about the rain. He then thought up a game plan.

First, he would go to the bakery and have a little peek. Not a big one to confuse people, but rather a glance. Just to see how George was doing on this horrible day. Second, he would grab a cab. Meters were placed on the side of the road and Clay could easily grab one. The bad news is, most people were already calling a cab, which means that there was barely any left. So, as Clay concluded, he would have to either A, wait in the rain to grab a cab, or B, steal one. He would, of course, apologize to the person, but either way, he would still get in the small car. It didn’t matter though. Clay didn’t go through either of the plans he had thought out. So there he was, running back and forth between meters, trying to shove the poor people out of the way so he could scrunch into the small car. Plan B wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. By his second round, he was already out of breath. This is what quarantine does to people. Clay sighs and leans up against a brick wall, feeling fat drops of water falling onto a side of his head. He noticed that he was actually in front of a small bakery. George's bakery. So, driven by the harsh weather of the outdoors, he went against his better judgment and walked into the bakery, hoping that George wouldn't see anything familiar about him. But alas, the universe was being a bitch and decided to make everything harder for Clay.

Now, there Clay was, back facing the small (compared to Clay at least) boy, heart racing and palms sweaty. George actually _remembers_ him. Clay heard the words come out of his mouth, but he didn't feel himself move. He only saw the streetlights moving as his feet bust out of the concrete that was holding them down. Clay turns a corner and finally lets out his breath that he was holding. He felt lightheaded, but his heart rate slowed as he knew that he was out of George's sight range. _It's not like he remembers you. There are plenty of guys that look exactly like you._ Even though Clay repeated those words to himself multiple times, he still couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness he had. George wasn't supposed to remember him. That was against the law of nature. This wasn't normal.

* * *

**GEORGE'S POV (3rd)**

_Wednesday_

What a weird man. George turns, making sure the glass doors are locked before he finally goes the opposite way to his car across the street. He could still feel the slight burn of his cheeks. When he got in his car, the smell of cigarettes still lingered. _I thought I told Nick to stop smoking in the car._ Nick or Sapnap, George's best friend got into the nasty habit by the time they were both 16. George had tried a cigarette once, but he choked on the foul smoke and vowed never to try one again. The cold car makes George shiver and he turns the key to the car and picks the highest setting of heat in the car. George rubs his hands together and backs out of his parking spot, turning the corner on the street. George wasn't the best driver. At all. He was even surprised when he even passed the driving exam. Really, his whole family was surprised that he got his license. The concept of driving was just confusing to George, and his colorblindness didn't help out at all. By the time he even started driving, the traffic lights were just classified as the top, middle, and bottom light. George never could tell the difference. Running over curves and getting honked at was nothing new to George, he has just come to accept it. 

George turns the corner and parks his car neatly (or at least, as neat as George can make it) into the driveway of his apartment building. He walks in and steps into the cold steel of the elevator and turns, seeing a man heading his way. Sapnap. George spams the door key and the number 5 button, and the door closes as Sapnap is running towards him

"GEORGE NO-" The elevator doors closed and George doubles over with laughter. He heard the distressed scream that was cut off by the doors and the frustrated stomp of Sapnap's foot. Now, it's usually very hard to make George laugh, but when he's even remotely close to his close friends, it's like he has a personality switch. From a hard stoic man to a giggly crazy boy. It was astronomical how fast George's mood could change. Another one of the interesting things about George. As George steps out of the elevator he can hear the large stomps of his friend running up the stairs. George smiled and turns his body towards the door and find his friend gasping for air. Walking up 5 stories was hard enough as it is, but running up was a different story. George giggles and plucks his keys out of his pocket and opens the door to Sapnap and his apartment.

Now, you may be asking. George, why are you working at your _family-owned_ bakery, when you don't even live with them? The answer is actually pretty simple. Because he's forced to. The fact that he always gets fired from his jobs may be another factor, but Geroge likes to ignore that fact. He sets the keys on their clean counter and grabs a glass from the cabinet to fill with water. George is kind of a neat-freak, so everything is spotless in their apartment. The only trace of Sapnap is the cigarette ashes in a pile on their balcony, but George forces him to clean them up at least once a week. George hands his friend the glass of water and lets him catch his breath.

"GEORGE how could you do that to me?" Sapnap finally whines. George chuckles and turns around, taking off his coat.

"You deserved it you bitch" He jokes back. Sapnap fake gasps

"Did you just call me a BITCH?"

"Yes, I did."

"And why did you call me that?"

"Because you are one." And with that, George finds himself in a headlock and Sapnap ruffling his hair harshly.

"Sapnap, stop doing that!" George whines and he pushes the bigger man away. Sapnap laughs and sits back down, gulping the rest of his water. They then sit there in comfortable silence, George washing the dishes and Sapnap looking at his phone. They usually just sit there, enjoying each other's company until one of them breaks the silence. Sapnap walks out to the balcony and lights a cigarette, only opening the door to ask George what kind of pizza toppings he wanted. Of course, George answered with mushrooms and Sapnap made a weird face sticking out his tongue. What a weird pizza topping, mushrooms. George, of course, smiles at that and walks over to the tv and turns on his gaming console, signing into his account. He opens Minecraft, and when Sapnap notices he immediately puts out his cigarette and runs inside, grabbing a remote to play. The two play Minecraft while they waited for their pizza and after, playing for a total of 7 hours. By the time they stopped playing, it was already 11:30, and Sapnap decided to head to bed. His excuse is that he has work early tomorrow, but even George knows that he's just becoming an old man. George stays up for another 2 hours and then finally decided to hit the hay. Sleeping was his favorite thing to do. Especially when he dreams. 

* * *

George wakes up in a field. He's surrounded by a big dark sky, with moonlight dancing on his face. Small dainty flowers surrounded where he sat, Their petals looked like they could disintegrate in your hands and fly away with one little gust of wind. George felt peaceful and a smile rested on his beautiful face. He picks up a flower and admires the blue beauty in front of him, sending ghost touches to the small petals. He looks up and notices tiny little specks of light in the dark sky. Stars. They looked beautiful amongst the moon, and some appear out of nowhere after the wisps of clouds move away, uncovering their beauty. George then looks in front of him at a tree and sees a tall man sitting there playing with something in his hand. Rain starts trickling down George's back and he stands up, dropping the flower in the process. George drags his hand across the field of flowers as he walks up to the man. He seems to be playing with something moldable. The man looks up and smiles at George. The man looked ethereal in the moonlight and had freckles dancing across his face as he smiled. They send a warm feeling up George's spine. The man then hands George the object in his hand which George then identifies as Clay. It was molded into a funny character with a smile on it. It was cute The man looks at the sky and holds out his hand, feeling the rain, and lets out a small sigh.

"Ah, I wish it wasn't raining," He says. George could hear a hint of sadness in his raspy voice.

"Why? I think it gives a sense of beauty, the rain." George softly answers. George loved talking to the man, no matter the topic. It always sent a feeling of happiness and belonging. He looks at the hand of the freckles man, it was rough and course. His eyes went over to the familiar and warm face and then drifted down to the sight of his slightly chapped lips. The man smiles sadly.

"It's just never liked me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't really my favorite chapter but I think it'll do. Also,  
> PLEASE DON'T SMOKE MY GUYS  
> I just added in the fact that Sapnap smokes because I wanted to add a little more of a rebellious aspect to Sapnap's character.  
> I am also writing this at 4 am. Please help me


	3. Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which George eats cereal the wrong way, and Clay says hi to his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to get this out around Wednesday (the 6th of January) but I ended up having writer's block, and when I wanted to write I had stuff to do. So ladies and gentlepeople, here's this chapter I pulled out of my ass :)

**GEORGE'S POV (3rd)**

_Thursday_

George wakes up to the blaring of his alarm clock. A faint whisper of sunlight shed through his curtains, landing on his face making him wince at the bright light. George groans, the aroma of the blue flowers still filled his lungs lulling him back to sleep. George closed his eyes and smiled, imagining the face of the man in his dream, and the way his freckles danced on his face. George could see the crinkles of his eyes when he smiled and could point out the tiny scar that the man had on the bridge of his nose. He was yet again disturbed by the alarm. George groans and reaches his hand over to turn off the blazing device when he heard a crash. The alarm clock had fallen onto the floor and George swears that it got louder. By the time George had finally got his ass up, the flower scent had faded away and been replaced with the scent of candied lemons. Another weird thing about George: he loves the smell of lemons. It was like his guilty pleasure. The smell just intoxicated him and sent a stroke of euphoria to his brain. It even got to the point of him buying a candle (and even soap) that smelled just them. 

George walks out the door into the hall, turning into Nick and his shared bathroom. George looks into the mirror, analyzing his every being. His bangs hung in from of his eyes, brushing against his abnormally long eyelashes, getting caught in between them. he desperately needed a haircut, but he found himself playing video games every hour of the day, inevitably forgetting about it. It's gotten to the point that George could pull the back of his hair into a mini ponytail. He only pulls it back when he sleeps, to prevent him from breaking out on his neck. His whole face was fine, but his back was a different story, acne wise. George sighs and walks back to his room, deciding not to look at his own face any longer. He pulls on a new shirt (or at least, one that smelled decent) and walked out of his bedroom door. He heard that loud snoring of Nick still passed out in his bed. George chuckles at the noise and walks into the small minimalistic kitchen. He opens his cabinet and grabs a bowl for his morning cereal. He grabs the milk out of their tiny fridge and poured it into the bowl. They were out. George sighed as he made a mental note to get more milk. He was off today, after all. George steps over to the stash of cereal that they had sitting in the corner. Nick had this weird obsession with trying new cereals, which means they have at least one new kind of cereal every month. George picks the closest one and dumps it into the milk-filled bowl and grabs a pen and paper. He then starts to write his shopping list. 

* * *

**CLAY'S POV (3rd)**

_Thursday_

Clay has been up for a while. He had originally gone to bed around 2 am, but woke up at 6 and couldn't go back to sleep. His dream was too vivid and he couldn't get it out of his head. The way George smiled at him, and the soft aroma of the flowers gave Clay a wave of emotion he couldn't decipher. Clay groggily gets out of his sea of blankets when he decides the time was right. Usually, he would be getting ready for his job, but now that he was fired, his schedule was wack. Clay opens up his kitchen cabinet and grabs a glass of water, gulping it down desperately. The top of his mouth is dry as paper, and he can't taste anything but his breath. And, to make matters worse, he started to feel a stomach ache kick in. He opens his phone, checking the time, which read 6:36 am. Clay opens his contacts list and clicks on his mother's contact. Usually every Sunday and Thursday right before work he would call his mom, just to check in on her. It's not like she was his only family, but it was more of the fact that she insisted they talked at least twice a week. Three rings.

"Clay?" A voice asks on the other side of the electronic box, making Clay jump. Goddamn, his volume was up high. Clay lets out a small chuckle

"Hi mom" He answers sweetly

"Clay my boy! How are you doing? Are you getting ready to start work?" Clay winces

"About that Mom," Clay pauses and sighs "I was fired. Yesterday." There was an even longer pause on the other side of the phone. If you had a pair of scissors you could cut the tension between the two easily.

"Well, Clay, I don't know what to say." She finally answers. "I thought you said it was going well."

"I-It was, but I forgot to do something I guess was really important and-"

"Well, what were you doing instead of doing work? You know you have to support yourself right? Don't come crawling back to me when you need money. This was your decision to move out in the first place." She cuts Clay off. Clay sighs, hearing this many times before.

"Mom- I _know._ I can do this." She sighs after his answer.

"Yes, I know you can. You are my son after all. Just remember that you need to at least get a part-time job soon."

"I know mom, I got this" Clay reassures her. He can hear her sigh again in relief, and immediately she changed the subject. Clay was glad. He hated talking about his job, or even how shitty his life was to his mom. It was always the same thing, over and over. That it was _his_ idea to move out and _he_ wanted this. He knows, and he would never want to change that, but his mom still can't wrap her small head around it. They switched to the topic of Clay's family, and how his nieces and nephews were doing, which Clay always enjoyed. Of course, he missed them, but he wouldn't have it any other way. 

"So, Clay." His mom started. Oh god, here it comes. "Did you dream with her again?" This was a topic they always had. It usually ended their calls, because really, Clay just wanted to hold it off. Sometimes she would forget about it too. Clay clears his throat.

"Oh um- yeah I did. Last night actually." He answers. He can hear his mother's breath hitch with excitement.

"Oh really?! Oh how romantic! What was it like? Can you describe it for me?!" And so he did. Clay described the dream as best as he could. Of course, he left out some parts. Like the gender of George. He still hasn't told his mom the _real_ gender of the man he shares his dreams with. He knows what she'll think, and he was ok with putting it off for a long time. A long long time. Who knows though, they might not even end up together.

"Oh Clay, I've got to go meet up with Deborah. Goodbye! Love you!" Clay repeats her last words and hangs up the phone and plops down on his cheap and crusty couch. Those calls really drain him out.

* * *

**June 19th, XXXX ( 11 years ago )**

It was the middle of the night, and Clay woke up with a sick feeling in his stomach. He wanders into the dark hallways, clutching his blanket with him as he walks towards his parent's bedroom. Clay walked into the room, finding his mother and father huddled together, his father whispering words into his mother's ear. She was crying- no _sobbing._ Tears streaked down her face as his father wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to calm her down. His father looks up at 10-year-old Clay standing in the door frame. Clays' father beckons him to come closer, and Clay obeyed. He climbs up onto the king bed his parents share. His mother looks up at him and shows him a weak smile and tries to dry her tears. Clay gets closer and wraps his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. 

"Why is Momma crying?" His younger self asked.

"Well, Momma had a bad dream, son" His father replied. Clay looks up at his father's face. There were tears in his eyes too, and streaks on his cheek.

"Why was dad also crying?" Clay asks.

"Well honey, daddy was in the dream too." His mother replies softly. Clay looks at his mom, head tilting. _He was there too?_

"Wh-what do you mean?" Clays father looks down at his mom, and she nods quickly and smiles up at him

" I think it's a good idea to explain it to him." His father gets out of the bed and hoists fetus Clay off of the bed. He carries the small boy to his bedroom.

His father starts talking

"So, where do I start?" He asks sitting down on Clay's bed, tucking him in. "Well, mommy's side of the family was like any normal family. They had 5 people in the house at all times and had 2 dogs at the same time. My family was normal too, we had 6 people in the house including your Great-grandma Ulande. However, my side of the family had a little secret only close ones knew. Our great-great-great-grandfather just so happened to be a Dreambonder." He paused chuckling at Clay's confused face as he went on with his story,

"A Dreambonder is someone who would go around and find people with special bonds that nobody can break. He then connected their dreams _forever_ as long as both were asleep at the same time. They would share the same experiences, nightmares, and even the weirdest dreams known to mankind. Now, the pair were said to be together forever, and the bond could only be broken by death. However, as generations went by, the Dreambonder's genetics passed down to his children and his direct family members. The sort of _magic_ was still there, but it wasn't the same concept. Instead of them picking people to share dreams, they were assigned people who were destined to become their special bond. In other words, it was like a magical love-finder.

"This also means that the bonds could be broken easier, with loss of trust and falling in love with another." His father pauses again and stands up stretching slightly. "It's only us, the descendants of the Dreambonder who have those special dream bonds with another person" His father kisses Clay on the forehead as he could see Clay slowly drifting off to sleep.

"It's just up to us to find them." With that, his father closes the door and Clay feels himself fading back into sleep. His stomachache had disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I'm not rushing the story, so if it feels like it is, please tell me :) Also, Dream feels like the sort of kid who knows big words just to show off. That's not just me, right?


	4. Cat Vase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which three men go shopping and two fight over something precious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello? helloooooo? is that you? woah, i haven't seen you in a literal month. how are you? have you been drinking enough water lately?  
> I am sorry for updating this like, a month later :( I just started in-person school again, so that means a shit ton more of homework and a lot of procrastination that comes with it.:,)  
> sorry for the people who read this, i try to update it when I can and feel like it, this is mainly a fun little project I work on when I want to relieve stress and shit like that :) please enjoy this late chapter !!

**CLAY'S POV (3rd)**

Friday

10:26 am

  
The convenience store was a decent size, not as big as the large company-owned stores, but big enough to hold what most locals needed. It gave off a sort of nostalgic feel with the luminescent lights which would occasionally flicker. Today, the store was reasonably packed, but still full enough to give Clay a tiny bit of anxiety. Whenever he stood in the aisles and somebody walked even remotely close to him, his heart rate spiked, and he could feel himself stiffen. Nobody talked to him though, so there was nothing to worry about. All he had to do was get a couple of things to survive for the upcoming week. That mainly included bottles of water, a ton of snacks, a couple of mac n' cheese boxes, and some other things that caught his eye. If his mother saw what he was eating she would freak. But, Clay always got at least one fruit or vegetable to calm his mother, even though she wasn't living with him anymore. 

Clay sighs with relief as he realizes all of the stuff on his list was sitting in his shopping cart. He was ready to get out of this store. He wheels the metal cart over to the checkout station when a certain area caught his eye. The clearance section. Now, most people would just walk straight past the junk aisles, thinking that everything was completely useless. Clay was not most people. He found some of the best things in the clearance section. He even found silly bandz, which were only 50 cents (and of course he showed them off to all of his friends.) Clay made a bee-line towards the section already marveling at the amount of junk that was sitting haphazardly on the shelves. He scanned the aisles a few things catching his eye, but nothing that really interested him. Until he saw it.

It was sitting on the middle shelf, in the middle of a huge clutter pile of different ceramics. The special item was mixed with different shades of blues and greens, and you could see every little tiny detail that the item held. The beautiful vase looked untouchable, and Clay swore he heard angels when his eyes met with the vase. It was love at first sight. To make it even better, the vase didn't even look like a vase, but a cat. The cat is sitting, and a hole is inside the head, going down the body. If you think about it, that part is pretty gruesome, but Clay didn't care, because, well... it was a fucking cat vase, who would pass that up? Clay heads towards the holy vase, twisting and dodging the other shoppers who were trying to have a lovely time shopping in the clearance section. And there he is, standing in front of the holy grail. Clay reaches out his hand, grabbing the cat vase, but instead of feeling the cool hard surface of the cat, he was met with a different surface. A hand.

Clay looks over to see himself looking at a man with a beard looking at him with daggers in his eyes. The man looked like an angry cat, the way he was glaring at Clay, and he had to suppress a loud wheeze. Clay looked down at the man, who was only a little bit short than him. He wore a white sweatshirt and wore a cowboy hat. A fucking cowboy hat. He was accompanied by another man who seemed to be his friend. The man wore a blue sweatshirt and black jeans blue sadly, he wasn't wearing a cowboy hat.

"Hey man, I saw this first!" The bearded man says, gripping the vase harder. Clay stacks his other hand on top of the man's and moves his face in front of his, close enough to feel the other's angry breathing on his face. Clay's smiles smugly

oh god

"Sorry, but actually I saw it first." Clay answers simply. His smug smile is met.

"Oh but honey, I'm sure I saw this first." He answers back, leaning his face in a little closer. Both men stood in the store heads together, eyes locked on each other and hands gripping the poor cat vase. The man behind the others shifted his weight onto his left foot, glancing around uncomfortably as people started looking their way

"Sapnap" the man hissed at the bearded man. The man- no, Sapnap- ignored the man behind him, not breaking eye contact for one second. Clay decided now was the only time to pull out the big guns.

"God I really want to kiss you right now," Clay says smirking. Sapnap's eyes got wide and he gulped slightly, hesitating for a second before he returned Clay's smirk with his own.

"Oh really? Well, I-" 

" _Sapnap!"_ The bearded man was pulled backward by his shirt as his friend got more and more irritated. Clay looked up at Sapnap's companion when he realized that he, in fact, knew the man throwing daggers with his eyes. It was _George._ The guy who he technically _stalked._ (It's not like he would actually admit that, but it was somewhat true.) Clay stepped back and Sapnap threw his hands up, surrendering as George gripped his shirt fiercely.

"Woah George calm down man-"

"No, _you_ calm down," Clay was surprised at the malice in his voice, but he could detect small amusement in his voice as he reprimanded his friend. " and you _apologize_ to him" Sapnap looked up sheepishly at Clay, who now felt a little bad. Sapnap obviously really liked the piece of clay, so what kind of person would he be to strip him of his happiness? Clay drops his smoldering gaze and lets go of his precious cat vase. Sapnap's eyes widen and he looks up at Clay with happiness.

"He's right, he saw it first." Clay simply says. He wasn't sure if they could tell under his mask, but he was grinning at the look on the bearded man's face as he lovingly looked down at the vase. Clay steps back and looks down at George, who was watching Sapnap with amused eyes. A pang of jealousy coursed throughout Clay, but he shook it off and cleared his throat. George looked up at him.

"So um, George- was it?" Clay asks. He couldn't let him know that he had already memorized everything about him. Sure, he would eventually tell him that they were destined to be together because of his ancestor and that he partially stalked him while slowly falling in love with him. Well, it's not like he fell in _love_ but more like developed a huge crush. Possibly. George looked up at Clay, his coffee eyes filled with confusion and then realization.

"Oh yeah! Your name is Clay, right?" George asks. Clay could feel his cheeks turning pink, thank god for his mask. And Sapnap.

"Woah George! Look at the different kinds of chips there are!" Sapnap grabbed George's sleeve and George looks up apologetically at Clay before letting himself get dragged away by a grown man. Clay watches as George follows Sapnap, who was acting like a little puppy. Clay chuckles and decides to go back to his grocery shopping, the thing that he came to the store for. He doesn't live with anyone, but a grown man staying in his house all day eats a _lot._

_11:14_

Clay had finished his shopping, not once encountering the duo again. He had checked the junk aisles again, just to see if there was anything else that caught his attention, but nothing could top the holy cat vase he gave up to a man he didn't know. The cashier hands Clay his receipt, and he thanks her, walking away from the register. Clay walks out of the store and is greeted by a blast of cold air. He shivers and hunches over slightly, searching for warmth. Clay finally makes it over to his car and yanks off his mask. He was getting used to the cloth on his face, but he still couldn't stand being in an area with it on for more than an hour. The mask gets all itchy and uncomfortable, and Clay swears it gets smaller the longer he wears it, but even he knows that's impossible to happen. Clay breathes in the crisp air for a moment, filling his lungs with something other than the smell of a stale convenience store. He looks down, ready to open his car door, only to find a plastic bag wrapped around his door handle. Clay looks around curiously, wondering if the person was still there, or if they had accidentally left it there. Nobody was near him, and he grabs for the bag, and slowly opens it, expecting something to pop out. Nothing happened, and Clay slowly opens his eyes to look in the bag, fearing for the worst. But, instead of shit like he expected, a vase was sitting in the plastic bag, shining with the little amounts of sunlight that was cast upon it. A cat vase. A note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote the whole chapter without realizing that I wrote Sapnap every single time, instead of Nick, so we're just going to say that George calls him sapnap. i need to change that in the other chapters, whoops


End file.
